


This Is Who We Are

by frapandfurious



Series: you'll make your real friends and set yourselves apart [11]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Character Study, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Pre-Slash, magic!, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 12:18:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9384746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frapandfurious/pseuds/frapandfurious
Summary: The wand chooses the wizard.





	

It was a cloudy end-of-winter day; the sort of day when the sun made sure it was still remembered, peeking through the occasional break in clouds like a mother checking in on her sleeping children. It was gray but bright, highlighting the puddles scattered across the grounds where snow had melted. One such puddle was wrenched from its still, unsuspecting state by a pair of boots stomping through it with a splash. Two other pairs followed.

 

“Couldn’t we have waited a few more days for things to dry up?” Hux grumbled as he tried and failed to avoid the worst of the mud and water. They’d left their robes behind in favor of more practical jackets and wore high rain boots, but he still hated the mess.

 

Phasma walked ahead of him with a sure stride, not caring where she stepped. In fact, she was _enjoying_ this, deliberately stomping in the largest ones and sending up a spray for Hux to dodge.

 

Kylo was somewhere in the middle on the whole thing. He wasn’t going out of his way to step in puddles but he didn’t avoid them either. He wasn’t very attuned to where his own feet were at all; he was focused on trying to subtly deflect some of the more aggressive sprays of mud from hitting Hux. While watching him fuss over every step was amusing, if he actually got half-drenched in cold water he’d be miserable, and Kylo didn’t want that.

 

“We were going mad cooped up in there. This is the first warm day we’ve had all semester, let’s take advantage of it!”

 

“You call _this_ warm?”

 

“ _Relatively_ , yes.”

 

“I’m not cold at all,” Kylo chimed in.

 

“Yes, well, you’re like a human fireplace,” Hux replied.

 

Kylo found himself oddly pleased by the observation, in a way that confused him. He did run warm naturally and Hux had _noticed_ , and that was probably because lately they stood much closer together. Hux seemed perpetually cold and when he’d sometimes lean a little closer, subconsciously of course, it had to be, Kylo never stopped him.

 

They arrived at their destination: a spot at the edge of the Forbidden Forest where the tree line curved partway around a section of lawn, forming an alcove. Here, they were partly concealed by the trees but not so much that they were considered off the grounds. They could be in the forest without actually being _in_ the forest. Hux had discovered it, or, discovered the students who discovered it before them. He and Phasma had scared them off quickly and claimed it as their own. When they were sure they could trust him, they had shown Kylo, too.

 

Once the relentless torrent of terrible weather had let up for a bit, they made plans to head there together to get some fresh air and practice spells unsupervised.

 

When they arrived, it was clear that not a single person had been there since they last visited, before Christmas break. The crates where they would set various things to curse or transfigure or otherwise maim still sat in a row, waiting. In fact, the only sign of life was a set of hoof prints which ventured a few meters out from the woods then back in. Phasma examined them.

 

“Deer, probably,” she said, “they’re too small to be unicorn or centaur.”

 

“Do you ever find it weird,” Kylo wondered out loud. His friends turned to look at him. “I mean, that there are deer in the forest? Regular deer? All those magical creatures and then, just…deer.”

 

Hux’s mouth curved up a little.

 

“The muggles of the animal world,” he replied sagely. When Kylo laughed Hux’s little smirk grew into a full smile. Phasma was staring, surely making some sort of expression, but Kylo couldn’t be arsed to care when Hux was smiling at him like that…

 

A loud _clunk_ finally made Hux and Kylo look over. Phasma had pulled a seemingly random collection of items from her enchanted bag, many of them larger than the bag itself, and was placing one on top of each crate: a glass vial, a shoe, a round metal tin, a large ceramic vase. The one that had made the loud noise was what looked like a chunk of lead. They didn’t know where she got it. They weren’t going to ask.

 

When she was done, she stood in front of them, pacing slowly like a professor.

 

“I call today’s lesson ‘letting off some steam’, also known as spells which are too noisy to practice indoors without someone making a fuss.”

 

Kylo lit up. Phasma noticed.

 

“Thought you’d like this one, Ky. Why don’t you start?”

 

“Oh. Okay. Uh, what spell?”

 

“Your choice.”

 

Kylo didn’t have to think long. There was one he was often tempted to unleash when classmates stared at him or muttered comments as if he wasn’t _standing right there_ , just the thought of it made him _furious_ …

 

Whatever his face was doing, it made Hux and Phasma take a few steps back to give him space. He centered himself facing the crates and wielded his wand.

 

-

 

_That day in the shop the wandmaker had given Kylo’s mother a wary look as he handed the then eleven-year-old his wand. It was hawthorn wood with a dragon heartstring core, dark and sturdy, and it felt good in his hand. As he stepped away to give it some playful test waves, too inexperienced to really do anything with it yet, he overheard the wandmaker speak quietly to his mother._

_“Has he shown any interest in…the dark arts?”_

_She had immediately risen to his defense._

_“No more than any other curious child. Why?”_

_“Nothing to concern yourself with,” the wandmaker tried to reassure her, though he didn’t sound convinced himself. “It’s just, that particular combination tends to appeal to wizards with…those sorts of **tendencies** …”_

 

_He’d stopped listening after that, but over the years Kylo found the man’s words to be true. While he was adept all around at Charms, his strength lay in curses. It was part of what had drawn him to dueling. When he felt angry or vengeful, his wand’s power was almost overwhelming, an extension of his tumultuous emotions. It was times like those when he truly knew that what he held was not just a tool but a weapon._

_Its only flaw was a hairline crack along one side, barely noticeable unless you were up close. It was the outcome of a modification attempt in his second year. He’d tried something he read about enhancing the power of one’s wand which had been, in the end, a load of bollocks. As a result, between the wand’s immense power and the crack, it had backfired more than once. The occasions were few and far between, but it added a level of thrill and risk to magic that would have put off a different wizard._

 

-

 

Kylo took aim at the first item, the vial.

 

“ _Reducto!_ ”

 

In a flash of blue, the vial shattered. It wasn’t satisfying enough, so he moved on to the next one, the shoe.

 

“ _Reducto!_ ”

 

That was somehow _less_ satisfying so he kept going down the line, one by one destroying each item. As he grew more comfortable with the spell, the destruction was more devastating, leaving less behind, and when he reached the chunk of lead, he blasted it into dust.

 

As the dust settled it was silent except for Kylo’s panting.

 

Then Hux and Phasma were on either side of him, cheering and patting him on the back.

 

“That was brilliant!”

 

“That was _art_.”

 

Kylo lowered his wand and beamed, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. He turned to Phasma.

 

“Your turn.”

 

They pulled new items from her bag and set them up. While she placed the last few, Hux and Kylo took several big steps back together, clearing plenty of space.

 

“Dare we ask what you have in mind, dear?” Hux asked.

 

Phasma glanced over to where they’d planted their feet side by side, seemingly unaware of how their postures mirrored each other and their shoulders brushed. She smirked.

 

“Maybe a confession charm is in order,” she muttered.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Nothing, darling! Hmm. Well, mine is sort of similar to Kylo’s, but I really wanted to blow something up today, so I don’t care.”

 

Hux and Kylo took an additional step back.

 

-

 

_Both of Phasma’s parents had taken her to pick out her school supplies. Confident even then, young Phasma had walked several paces ahead of them to each store, list in hand, and chose what she wanted. They’d run into a few other children starting that year but she didn’t seem overly concerned with them._

_“I’ll make friends when it’s time,” she said, “when I’m assigned a house.”_

_The wandmaker had smiled as he handed over her wand. It was light in color and unique in its design, even her parents commented how they’d never seen one quite like it._

_“Hornbeam with a dragon heartstring core,” the wandmaker declared, “That wand is for the sort of witch who knows what she wants. And it’s as loyal as they come.”_

_Phasma had smiled at the wand, swishing it experimentally, marveling at how it already felt so natural, like a missing part of her finally returned to its rightful place._

_The wandmaker hadn’t been kidding about its loyalty. Phasma took good care of her wand, it was with her at all times. But once, when she was in her second year, she had been disarmed in a run-in with some stuck-up fifth years who had been giving her a hard time. Phasma held her ground admirably but was ultimately outnumbered, and when the leader of the pack got his stupid hands on Phasma’s wand she was **livid** , but powerless to do anything._

_“What a ridiculous wand,” he’d sneered, pointing it at her. His posture was all wrong, that wasn’t how it was held, what did he expect to accomplish by…_

_“Levicorpus!”_

_Phasma squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself. When nothing happened she blinked them open to find her would-be assailant still pointing her wand at her, looking bewildered. He frowned and tried the spell again, and again. Nothing._

_“This stupid thing is broken,” he said with a sneer and tossed it back to her._

_As he and his goons walked away, Phasma twirled the wand and whispered ‘calvario’. Then she hid in a nook to watch him panic as his hair began to fall out in clumps. The wand wasn’t broken; it simply knew who its witch was._

 

-

 

Facing the targets, Phasma stood tall and took aim.

 

“ _Confringo!_ ” her voice rang out. A bright beam shot from the tip and hit the first victim, an old cauldron, which promptly exploded in a flash of orange. Kylo and Hux cheered her on from the sidelines as she did the same to each unfortunate item. When the dust settled, pieces of metal and glass and ceramic were scattered about, though the crates themselves were miraculously still intact. Kylo and Hux applauded and Phasma bowed.

“Thank you, thank you. Just a reminder, I do accept tips.”

They cleaned up the mess and then began to set up for round three. Halfway through placing the items, Hux stopped them.

“Wait,” he said, “here, push them together like this.”

Kylo and Phasma exchanged a look and a shrug, then pushed the crates together to form a square. Hux moved all the items into a pile in the center. He had smirk on his face that made Phasma raise an eyebrow.

“Uh oh. I know that look.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“You have a _plan_.”

 

“Of course I have a plan. I always have a plan.”

 

“What’s the plan?” Kylo asked him.

 

“You’ll see.”

 

Kylo and Phasma gave him plenty of space. Hux drew his wand and paced until he found the optimum angle.

 

“You picked a good day for this after all,” he told Phasma as he extended his arm, “the wet ground will make this safer.”

 

“Always so practical,” she shot back. Hux grinned.

 

-

 

_Practicality was one of many traits driven into Hux by his father. And practicality meant, among other things, not taking time away from work to make trips to Diagon Alley. Instead, a nanny brought Hux to purchase school supplies. Hux didn’t even mind terribly; he was fond of her, and excited to be out and about, and enthusiastic about beginning his schooling._

_“Ahh, this is quite a wand,” the wandmaker told Hux. The nanny had run into someone she knew and was on the other side of the shop chatting while Hux spoke with him. “Birch with a phoenix feather core, very rare.”_

_Hux had reached out and accepted his wand with awed reverence. He examined it – it was a dark wood, with a subtle but elegant design to it. He tried giving it a wave, and was startled when it…resisted. He could move it, but it felt off-kilter, like some other force was pushing against it. He looked up at the wandmaker with concern._

_“Are you sure this is the right one?” young Hux demanded. The wandmaker only chuckled._

_“It might take a wand like that a while to adapt to you, it’s quite stubborn. But believe me, that one is yours. It has potential for a great range of magic, if you’re committed to your studies.”_

 

_Hux was skeptical, but ambitious even then. If this was his wand’s nature he’d simply have to practice until using it felt as natural as breathing._

_So he did. And it was._

 

-

 

The movement for the spell was trickier than a simple flick of the wrist, but Hux performed it with ease, as he shouted, “ _incendio!_ ”

 

A jet of bright yellow fire blasted from the tip of the wand toward the unlucky target. The force of the beam was so strong that it sent up a gust of hot wind, blowing Hux’s hair into disarray. It made impact and the pile went up in crackling flames.

 

Phasma laughed triumphantly and clapped, throwing Hux a “well _done!”_ Kylo, meanwhile, was fixated on the way Hux’s eyes gleamed in the firelight. He didn’t get to enjoy it for long before Phasma was pulling him over to join Hux in front of the impromptu bonfire. Just when it looked as though it was dying down, the crates themselves went up, and the trio laughed and cheered at the even larger destruction.

 

As they stood together and watched the fire gradually consume everything, Phasma slipped her arm around Hux. Her hand bumped Kylo where he stood on the other side, drawing his attention to the gesture. It was clear she wanted him to do the same, but her own arm was taking up all of Hux’s narrow shoulders.

 

Prepared to blame his flushed cheeks on the heat of the fire, Kylo put his own arm the next available place: around Hux’s waist. He slipped his other hand into his pocket, trying to seem as casual as possible.

 

Hux tensed and shot him a surprised glance. Then he relaxed and smiled. With his hair made somehow even brighter and his freckled skin glowing gold in the light, he looked more than human, a being made of magic fire. Kylo felt himself consumed by it.

 

The peaceful moment was interrupted by a shout from across the grounds.

 

“Fire!” the voice cried out, “Fire in the forbidden forest!”

 

“There are students down there,” another one added. “Oi! What are you doing!”

 

“Party’s over,” Phasma lamented. She darted over to retrieve her bag from where she’d dropped it.

 

Hux and Kylo pointed their wands at what remained of the fire and in unison said, “ _aguamenti_ ”. Water shot forward, dousing the flames. Then they _ran_.

 

The students who had spotted them – a pair of Gryffindors – took off after them, but the trio had a head start and quickly lost them. They kept running anyway, scrambling into the castle through a side entrance, tracking muddy footprints through corridors and down flights of stairs, not stopping until they’d reached the Slytherin common room. There, they collapsed together onto one of the couches, panting and laughing. They began to catch their breath, then made the mistake of looking at one another and dissolved back into laughter.

 

“Still wish we’d stayed inside?” Phasma asked once she caught her breath. Hux swatted her arm but he was smiling.

 

Kylo, also smiling, had pulled out his wand and was twirling it in his fingers. Hux and Phasma watched for a few twirls before pulling out their own wands and looking over them. Hux wordlessly held his out to Kylo, who look confused for a moment but took it. He handed his to Phasma, who handed hers to Hux. They took turns examining each other’s wands and waving them without actually trying to cast anything. Eventually they each took their own back again.

 

“Yours are nice,” Kylo told them, “but I like mine best.”

 

“Even with the crack?” Phasma asked.

 

Kylo’s thumb moved subconsciously to run over the small flaw in the wand.

 

“Especially with it,” he said.

 

Hux was watching him with a little grin.

 

“It suits you,” he said quietly.

 

Kylo’s face, already reddened by their dash across the grounds, flushed even more.

 

“Thanks. Um – same to you.”

 

“I find wandlore fascinating,” Hux continued, his hands gesturing as he spoke, “the way they grow and learn with us, take on our strengths and weaknesses, can even be _loyal_ …”

 

“Yeah, exactly! I wish there was a class on it!”

 

“Me too!”

 

They sprawled comfortably on the couch together, chatting excitedly. First about wandlore, then they got sidetracked onto other topics. They remained there the rest of the afternoon until their growling stomachs forced them to dinner. Their boots and pants were still flecked with dried mud up to the knees as they made their way to the Great Hall, but on a day like that they couldn’t have cared less.

**Author's Note:**

> visit us on tumblr! [fandomfix](http://fandomfix8.tumblr.com/) | [frapandfurious](http://obsessions-and-dreams.tumblr.com/)


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